| Country | Independence |
| Italy | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) |
| Jamaica | 6 August 1962 (from the UK) |
| Jan Mayen | void |
| Japan | 3 May 1947 (current constitution adopted as amendment to Meiji Constitution); notable earlier dates: 660 B.C. (traditional date of the founding of the nation by Emperor JIMMU); 29 November 1890 (Meiji Constitution provides for constitutional monarchy) |
| Jersey | none (British crown dependency) |
| Jordan | 25 May 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
| Kazakhstan | 16 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
| Kenya | 12 December 1963 (from the UK) |
| Kiribati | 12 July 1979 (from the UK) |
| Korea, North | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
| Korea, South | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
| Kosovo | 17 February 2008 (from Serbia) |
| Kuwait | 19 June 1961 (from the UK) |
| Kyrgyzstan | 31 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
| Laos | 19 July 1949 (from France) |
| Latvia | 4 May 1990 (declared); 6 September 1991 (recognized by the Soviet Union) |
| Lebanon | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
| Lesotho | 4 October 1966 (from the UK) |
| Liberia | 26 July 1847 |
| Libya | 24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship) |
| Liechtenstein | 23 January 1719 (Principality of Liechtenstein established); 12 July 1806 (independence from the Holy Roman Empire) |
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